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Biomedical subjects

C Taylor

Publications and source records attributed to C Taylor.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Diagnosis of Ewing's sarcoma and peripheral neuroectodermal tumour based on the detection of t(11;22) using fluorescence in situ hybridisation.

Fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) has been used increasingly for gene mapping and ordering probes on interphase and metaphase preparations. The association of consistent chromosomal aberrations with certain malignancies allows the possibility of using interphase cytogenetics as a diagnostic tool. In small round cell tumours of children accurate diagnosis may be difficult using existing methods. We have therefore evaluated the diagnostic potential of this technique when applied to the characteristic t(11;22) found in Ewing's sarcoma and peripheral neuroectodermal tumour (ES and PNET). Interphase nuclei were prepared from normal human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF), two Ewing's sarcoma cell lines and several fresh tumour biopsies. DNA probes each side of the breakpoint at 22q12 were labelled with biotin and digoxygenin, hybridised to chromosomes in interphase and detected in different colours. Measurements between pairs of signals arising from each copy of chromosome 22 were taken and statistical analysis performed. There was a highly significant difference (P < 0.0001) between the two populations of measurements obtained (from nuclei with and without the t(11;22)). Studying four tumours and one further ES line (blind) it was found that median values from 30 nuclei could correctly identify which samples contained the t(11;22). This application of interphase cytogenetics contributes a reliable, accurate and conceptually simple diagnostic test for ES and PNET. It may now be applied to other tumours with characteristic translocations, amplifications or deletions when suitable probes are available. This approach is likely to become a routine in clinical diagnosis.

Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11↗
PubMed1993

How to make the right choice: a new model for the selection interview.

The problems encountered when selecting new members of staff in the higher education setting are those universal in any type of organization. Nursing faculties, however, have an even greater difficulty in selecting appropriate staff owing to the diversity of both clinical and academic backgrounds of applicants. The organization is therefore stimulated and challenged in its ability to select the right employee for the job. The literature tends to support the use of group decision making in selection and the function of the group in the interview setting is to evaluate the applicant's prior learning against desirable characteristics. From an analysis of the literature, criteria relating to desirable employee characteristics for nurse academics have been developed. The author has identified a new model to use in assisting the selection panel in predicting the right person for the job.

Decision Making↗
PubMed1993

EIA with species-specific monoclonal antibodies: a novel seroepidemiologic tool for determination of the etiologic agent of spotted fever rickettsiosis.

All currently available assays for antibodies to the etiologic agents of spotted fever group rickettsioses detect reactivity with antigens of lipopolysaccharides and the major cell wall proteins, which contain epitopes that are shared among many spotted fever group rickettsiae. The hypothesis of this study was that a monoclonal antibody to a species-specific epitope of Rickettsia rickettsii would be blocked from binding to the rickettsial surface if the rickettsiae were incubated previously with serum containing species-specific antibodies to the epitope. In an EIA, binding of monoclonal antibody 5C10-F3 to R. rickettsii was blocked by convalescent sera from patients with Rocky Mountain spotted fever but not from those with Mediterranean spotted fever, endemic typhus, or Q fever or normal subjects. This assay should be useful in determining the origin of the high seroprevalence of spotted fever rickettsial antibodies in certain geographic regions and establishing a species-specific diagnosis in patients with undetermined rickettsial exposure.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1993

Opiate users and the first years after treatment: outcome analysis of the proportion of follow up time spent in abstinence.

This second report on a follow-up study of drug users focuses on changes that occurred on a number of variables between intake and follow-up and during the follow-up period. The length of abstinence from opiates was considered as a proportion of the total follow-up period. Overall there was a reduction in opiate use, in injecting and sharing equipment at follow-up. There had been, however, a high level of these risky activities during the follow-up period. Sustained abstinence from opiates was associated with increased employment, enhanced social stability and mental health. Intake drug use was strongly related to follow-up drug status. In particular, those who were injectors of multiple drugs at intake were far less likely to be long term opiate abstainers at follow-up than those who were not injectors at intake or injectors of opiates only.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Disposition of intramuscular cefonicid in elderly patients.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the disposition of intramuscular (IM) cefonicid in elderly patients with bacterial pneumonia. DESIGN: Pharmacokinetic study. SETTING: A 620-bed university-affiliated long-term care institution with its own 39-bed acute care unit. PATIENTS: Nine consecutive elderly patients with bacterial pneumonia treated with IM cefonicid. MEASUREMENTS: Blood samples were collected on the seventh day of therapy over a 24-hour period and analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. Pharmacokinetics parameters (volume of distribution, half-life, and clearance) and protein binding were calculated. Clinical outcome of IM cefonicid therapy was also noted. RESULTS: The estimated creatinine clearance (CIcr) ranged from 32 to 145 mL/min. Peak cefonicid serum concentrations occurred at 0.5-1.5 hours, with a mean value of 118 +/- 41 micrograms/mL. Cefonicid concentrations declined monoexponentially to 57 +/- 16 micrograms/mL at 12 hours and 28 +/- 14 micrograms/mL at 24 hours. The mean apparent distribution volume was 0.2 +/- 0.07 L/kg, and the mean apparent total clearance was 15 +/- 12 mL/min. The half-life ranged from 3.1 to 38 hours. A linear correlation was noted between Clcr and cefonicid clearance (r = 0.99). CONCLUSIONS: Cefonicid absorption was variable among these patients, and the serum half-life was longer than previous values noted in younger patients with similar degree of renal dysfunction. Pharmacokinetic and clinical outcome data from our study group indicate the potential role of IM cefonicid in treating elderly patients with bacterial pneumonia.

Absorption↗
PubMed1993

Vascular addressins are induced on islet vessels during insulitis in nonobese diabetic mice and are involved in lymphoid cell binding to islet endothelium.

In the nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse, lymphocytic and monocytic infiltration of the pancreatic islets leads to beta cell destruction. To investigate the mechanisms by which lymphocytes enter the NOD pancreas, pancreata were immunostained using monoclonal antibodies to a variety of adhesion molecules known to be involved in lymphocyte binding to vascular endothelium, an initial step in the migration of lymphocytes from blood into organized lymphoid and inflamed tissues. These adhesion molecules include: lymphocyte homing receptors involved in tissue-selective binding of lymphocytes to peripheral lymph node (L-selectin) or mucosal lymphoid tissue (LPAM-1, alpha 4 beta 7-integrin) high-endothelial venules (HEV); and HEV ligands peripheral vascular addressin (PNAd) and mucosal vascular addressin (MAdCAM-1). In NOD pancreata, alpha 4 beta 7 is expressed on most infiltrating cells at all stages of insulitis, whereas L-selectin expression is more pronounced on cells in the islets at later stages. During the development of insulitis, MAdCAM-1 and to a lesser extent PNAd became detectable on vascular endothelium adjacent to and within the inflamed islets. The Stamper-Woodruff in vitro assay was used to examine lymphoid cell binding to such vessels. These functional assays show that both the mucosal (MAdCAM-1/alpha 4 beta 7) and the peripheral (PNAd/L-selectin) recognition systems are involved in this binding. Our findings demonstrate that expression of peripheral and mucosal vascular addressins is induced on endothelium in inflamed islets in NOD pancreas, and that these addressins participate in binding lymphoid cells via their homing receptors. This suggests that these adhesion molecules play a role in the pathogenesis of diabetes in these mice by being involved in the migration of lymphocytes from blood into the inflamed pancreas.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Surveillance for equity in maternal care in Zimbabwe.

The great hope and promise of post-independence efforts to promote equitable health care in Zimbabwe started with three years of dramatic improvement. Commitment to correcting inequities which were as discriminatory as any country in the world produced rapid extension of health centre infrastructure and the improvement of district hospitals. The major constraint was the entrenched pattern of sophisticated, high-technology health care left by colonial administrators which continued to monopolize resources. In spite of the excellent beginning, development of services for the poor was thwarted by recession, prolonged drought and external military destabilization. The cutbacks in funding for health care have been particularly severe as a result of economic adjustment policies imposed by IMF. Political pressure moved the health system toward private entrepreneurship returning to earlier patterns of discrimination in favour of whites and urban residents. Efforts to promote high-risk monitoring have had little impact among the poor and those living in remote areas. Equity has become symbolic rather than real. The government of Zimbabwe maintains a continuing commitment to the original goals of equity through primary health care. International agencies also would like to find a way to help reallocate services. There seems to be recognition that little will be accomplished in improving health conditions unless services are provided to those in greatest need. Disparities in maternal care are especially severe and can be improved only by building infrastructure to provide antenatal and perinatal services.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1993

Nursing ethics: the role of caring.

This article contrasts two popular approaches to nursing ethics: the principle-based approach and the care perspective. The care perspective is situated within the general schema of ethical theory and described. Its contributions to nursing and clinical ethics are highlighted, as are the challenges it poses to nursing practice, education, and research. The author concludes that the caring perspective provides an orientation to persons that grounds professional relationships and ethics in all of the helping professions. As such, it provides an insufficient basis for establishing a distinct theory of nursing ethics.

Bioethics↗
PubMed1992

Structural heterogeneity in the R173 family of rye-specific repetitive DNA sequences.

The rye-specific R173 family of repeated DNA sequences consists of ca. 15,000 individual copies per diploid rye (Secale cereale) genome and is distributed over all 7 rye chromosomes in a dispersed manner. Individual R173 elements vary in size between 3 and 6 kb, are generally not arranged as tandem repeats and are flanked by both multi-copy and single-copy sequences. DNA sequence analysis of three R173 elements (R173-1, R173-2 and R173-3) demonstrated a high degree of homology in conserved domains. The structure of R173-1 was quite different from the other two elements: long direct repeats, which represent a rye-specific repetitive sequence, were found at the ends and a 600 bp long domain was replaced by an unrelated sequence of approximately equal size. R173-2 and R173-3 were extremely similar to each other with the exception of a terminal truncation of R173-2. No open reading frames for proteins greater than 20 kDa were present and a database search failed to detect significant homologies to published protein sequences. Despite the transposon like genomic organisation of the R173 family, individual elements lacked sequence features frequently associated with transposons and retrotransposons. In contrast, two of the regions flanking R173 elements showed strong DNA homologies to a 850 bp long region of a proposed wheat retrotransposon and to a 300 bp long region downstream of the wheat Glu-D1 gene.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Evaluation of two rapid tests for the diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis genital infections.

The performance of two new enzyme immunoassays (EIA) for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in a practice setting was compared. A consecutive series of 207 female patients seen at an inner-city sexually transmitted disease clinic were tested by cell culture, the Kodak SureCell (SC) and Abbott TestPack Chlamydia (TP) EIAs. In addition 210 male patients, selected by physicians on the basis of the fact that multiple urethral samples could be obtained, were tested by cell culture and SC. The prevalence of infection was 19% in the females and 12.5% in males. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value for the SC and TP were 88%, 95%, 81%, 97% and 59%, 99%, 95%, 91%, respectively, in the female population. The sensitivity of the SC was significantly greater than that of the TP (p less than or equal to 0.002). The performance values of the SC in men (in the same order) were 64%, 96%, 71% and 95%, respectively. The SC in male patients and the TP in female patients had low sensitivity. The sensitivity of the SC in female patients was significantly higher than that of the TP. However, the SC yielded more false positive results. To determine the utility of these tests in a practice setting further studies are required.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Physical consequences of depression in the stroke patient.

The past literature suggests the hypothesis that depression is associated with decreased physical functional ability in stroke patients. On a medical rehabilitation ward, 21 stroke patients were evaluated for depression by psychiatric interview and self-report, and were also rated on the Barthel's Functional Index (BFI). The hypothesis was supported: Patients scoring 17 or higher on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) (N = 7) had lower initial scores on the BFI than patients with lower BDI scores. There was a trend for these seven depressed patients to improve more slowly as ascertained by the BFI. Depression was suggested to lower functional ability by increasing fatigue, hopelessness, and decreasing motivation.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1992

Detection of depression in the stroke patient.

The literature suggests the hypothesis that nonpsychiatrists will underrecognize depression in evaluations of stroke patients. On a medical rehabilitation ward, 15 stroke patients were evaluated for depression by psychiatric interview and self-report. Charts were examined for detection of depression by the rehabilitation team. The hypothesis was supported: in contrast to psychiatric interview (68% depressed) and self-report (Beck Depression Inventory, 50% depressed), none of the patients were described as depressed in chart notes by the rehabilitation team (excluding the psychiatrists). Psychiatrists should develop ongoing interactions with primary care physicians to improve detection of poststroke depression and other depressions on medical wards.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Hearing the noise in the system. Exploration of textural analysis as a method for studying change in drinking behaviour.

This paper explores how treatment research is to catch within its design those many unplanned influences which lie outside therapeutic control, but which may influence processes of change. These factors are excluded from the conventional controlled trial. The background literature is briefly reviewed. A study is then described which employed a computer assisted method of textual analysis and an entirely open-ended coding system. The material which was analysed derived from interviews with 49 subjects whose accounts were tape recorded 10 years after treatment contact. Episodes of successful or unsuccessful 'change attempt' (CA) were identified. The two types of CA were compared in relation to coded issues pertaining to the periods before, during and after the episode. A number of significant findings are reported. In the pre-attempt phase 'Success' CAs were significantly associated with traumatic events in the person's life, and with a variety of positive and negative events. During the 'attempt' phase, 'Success' was associated with choice of an abstinence goal. For 'post-attempt', 'Success' was associated with 'Substitution', 'Altruism', 'Fulfillment', and finding the process 'Difficult'. The very preliminary nature of these findings is stressed and the need for further rigorous methodological development.

Adult↗